Potentiality
by Lady Winterlight
Summary: This isn't a crossover in the strictest sense, but I wanted to make sure it got into both Thor and Avengers categories. Lokane AU; the story starts during the Avengers movie and spins off from there. Jane was working on the Cube project with Erik and becomes something more than she started.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** _The Avengers_ characters and story are owned by Marvel and their script writers. I am only borrowing them for a little fun.

**A/N**: This story began as a small plot bunny for Alydia's Lokane weekend. We will get to that eventually. For now, this story takes off from Avengers and spins away into an AU. The early chapters dealing with the events in _The Avengers_ will be more narrative than anything. I don't feel it's necessary to recreate the film script. Instead, I will briefly take you through what changed. The writing style will likely morph into a more common format in later chapters.

_Italics_ indicate conversation that is not spoken aloud.

* * *

Jane Foster was overwhelmed.

She stared fixedly into the light of the Cube in her hands. No, not the Cube. _Tesseract,_ a voice whispered into her mind.

* * *

For the past several weeks, Jane had been working at a SHIELD base with Erik. They had brought her in on the renewable energy project due of her unique leaps of logic that allowed her to find answers quickly. She had been content there, hoping that someday the energy project might produce a stable enough power source to power an Einstein-Rosen Bridge.

And then **he** arrived. The power on the Cube spiked, and a being came through the portal. Loki.

Everything got blurry after that. Along with Hawkeye and Erik, she had followed Loki out of the complex. They had found a place to keep working, and that was all she knew. She occasionally heard bits of other conversations around her, but there was a sort of pressure in her mind that didn't allow her to focus on anything else.

Until she had picked up the Cube to give it to Erik.

And everything changed.

* * *

Knowledge flooded her mind. Places in the universe that she had never seen. Pathways between Realms that she had never known existed. And it spoke to her. Even when Erik impatiently plucked the cube out of her hands and returned to work, the connection continued.

_You are different, Jane Foster,_ it said to her. The Tesseract's voice was distinctly female, and immediately she began to think of it as such.

_I am?_ she answered tentatively, not entirely sure how to go about speaking without using her voice.

_There is a great potential in you. In your mind. You must be the one to help stop this. What the others are attempting is not meant to be._

The strange pressure in her mind that had been driving her for God knew how long was suddenly gone. She could think clearly again. _How can I help?_ Jane asked, more than a little awed.

_I have freed your mind from control and unlocked your potential, the voice said to her, power humming in the background. You must stay with me until the time is right. I will help you._

_Oh… okay_, Jane replied, not knowing what else to do.


	2. Chapter 1

Please see first chapter for notes, etc.

As always, _italics_ indicates nonverbal speech.

Chapter 1:

Using the power the Tesseract had awoken in her mind was difficult for Jane. She had read enough sci-fi as a teenager to know that there were terms for what she was learning to do, but the reality was not what the stories made it seem to be. It was work; it made her tired and sometimes irritable. Fortunately, no one questioned her; their focus on their work was too strong. Even Erik only glanced at her for a moment before his attention was diverted again.

Jane practiced slowly while pretending to work with the others. She knew their minds were being controlled, so she set herself to determining how. She began with learning to sense how their minds worked. Little by little she learned to insinuate herself into the thoughts of others, just listening.

She quickly noticed that when Loki and his sceptre were nearby, the controlling compulsions were stronger. People around her worked frantically, wanting only to provide what Loki needed. It drove them.

And then she discovered something interesting.

Even Loki was under some degree of mental influence.

Oh, he was still capable of independent thought and action. But the pathways of his thoughts were twisted, warped. And the warping influence had a very similar feel to the magic controlling the rest.

* * *

Working with her power when Loki was around, Jane discovered, was something of a risk. Once in a while he would seem to notice something and look in her direction. The first time he came and stood right behind her, watching over her shoulder while she worked, was unnerving. But she focused on the numbers in front of her and kept working furiously. After several long, terrifying minutes, he moved on and left her alone again.

That was when she decided to find out if she could influence him. To keep him from noticing her. She already knew that the magic worked on his mind twisted his thoughts into different pathways, diverting sentiment and driving him with anger and impatience at times. Maybe she could do the same? It was immoral, but in the interest of keeping herself safe perhaps justified.

_Do you think I could?_ she asked the Tesseract. Jane felt her gentle presence in the back of her mind most of the time, now, and took it for granted that she could follow the line of thought.

_You could have to be very careful,_ the Tesseract answered. _It would take a very delicate touch to avoid conflicting with the compulsions already there._

Jane thought about that for a long moment. _So what you're saying is that I need to practice before I try it._

Silence answered her. But one thing she had learned was that the Tesseract wasn't inclined to tell her things she already knew.

So Jane practiced. She felt guilty for meddling in the minds of the people around her, particularly because they were already being controlled. But she became more skilled at diverting attention from her and what she was doing. She learned to very gently reach out and shift a thought aside before the person became truly aware. She could even hide a memory.

Using her power gave Jane a headache when she overdid it. So she paced herself, doing a little at a time. After a few days, she could tell who was nearby from the feel of their minds. Including Loki. She came to know them better than she had ever known anyone, despite the magic muddling them.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry for the short chapter. Prep for Thanksgiving has slowed me down a bit.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Thank you to those who have reviewed so far. It helps keep me going, knowing that people are interested in where the story is headed.

As always, _italics_ indicate nonverbal speech.

* * *

Chapter 2

When Loki and Erik went up onto Stark Tower to set up the portal device, Jane went too. With Loki standing there, she could do nothing to prevent the proper setup. Instead, she made some programming modifications while trying to subtly deflect Loki's attention from her.

Loki went inside, leaving them to finish up. Jane watched Iron Man land below and go inside. A sharp gasp escaped her when she saw Tony thrown out the window a few minutes later, but she couldn't let it distract her. She hoped he would be alright.

A moment later a soft moan echoed in her mind; a beam of energy leapt upwards from the Tesseract and a tear opened up in the sky. Through it she saw strange stars, space unknown on Earth. And then a horde of monsters began to spill through and Jane knew she was out of time.

_Help me!_ she thought frantically at the Tesseract. Her fingers flew over the device, inputting parameters that she would never have known but for the Tesseract's help at a speed she shouldn't have been capable of. _Faster._

As she worked, Jane made note of more voices in the back of her mind. Loki and Thor. Fighting. Part of her heard Thor plead with Loki to stop this, and Loki's answer that it was too late. For a moment, she felt whatever held onto his mind slip its hold and Loki's expression was almost regretful. Then whatever it was tightened its grip on him.

But she had to focus. She had to find a way to make it all stop.

And when she finished, the beam **pulsed**.

The tear in the sky clouded over before showing a different area of space. Unoccupied space; not a single Chitauri in sight. The beam continued to hold the portal open; she couldn't stop that. But no longer were there enemies pouring through.

Jane could only hope it would be enough.

**CRASH!**

Jane tore her eyes away from the sky when a horrendous noise shattered the din of fighting below. A monstrous leviathan crashed into a building, its power source apparently cut off when the portal changed. She could still hear screams and the sounds of distant gunshots far below. But the whining sounds in the air lessened until they were lost in the wind, with no more reinforcements coming through.

With a flash of light, Loki appeared on the roof beside her and Erik. "What have you done?" he hissed menacingly. His eyes were fierce and glinting palely blue and he swung his staff around to point at them with obvious threat. Erik moved to stand in front of Jane protectively, habit kicking in before the controlling impulse in his mind could override it. Loki looked at Erik sharply for a moment before knocking him aside. Erik crashed into a boxy shape on the roof and lay still at its base.

"Erik!" Jane cried out, worried for her friend. But with Loki in the way, she could not go to him. Instead she backed away from Loki's menacing figure as the Asgardian's eyes fixed on her intently.

"Do you have any idea what you have ruined?" Loki inquired smoothly, a hidden threat in every word. He paced slowly closer to Jane as she backed away. Her mind raced as she sought a way out of danger. She wasn't expecting Thor to just drop out of the air between them.

"It's over, Loki," Thor rumbled in his deep voice. "Your army is slain. It is time to end this, Brother."

"Time to end?" Loki hissed, his expression twisted with anger and hate. "Oh, no. My time has not yet come."

Jane stepped up to stand just behind Thor's back, Loki cut off from her sight. "Thor," she murmured, hopefully quiet enough for only him to hear. "His mind is being controlled. Look at his eyes."

Startled, Thor did as instructed and was startled to find them blue rather than the expected green. "How can we..? Are you not…?" he began to ask, but he stopped when he felt her shake her head.

"I might be able to try to help him, but I need to get close to him," she said, not really answering the questions he started to ask.

Thor nodded acceptance and took a step closer to Loki. "What is left, Brother? I do not want to hurt you." Thor adjusted his grip on Mjolnir, tensed for a fight but torn. He shifted slowly towards Loki and felt Jane moving with him, keeping behind him as much as possible.

"What mockery is this?" Loki asked venomously.

"No mockery," Thor replied. "You are not yourself, Loki."

"Am I not? Perhaps I am more myself now than you have ever known," Loki spat back. "For once, I am not in your shadow. For once, I am the powerful one. And as always, you cannot stand that anyone else have a moment in the sun!" Loki's eyes showed ageless pain and for a moment the blue receded into green.

_Now!_ the Tesseract's voice urged Jane on, and Jane reacted by flinging herself both mentally and physically at Loki. She lost track of her body as she threw her power at the magic controls within him at the moment they lost their grip. The Tesseract fed her the energy she needed as she struggled with the task of freeing Loki's mind.

Slowly, a little at a time, Jane broke the strands of control. As she broke more and more of them, she began to feel Loki's presence there with her. At first he fought her as well but she reached out to show him her intent and he joined with her instead. Together they cleared the rest of the controlling influence away.

Jane snapped back to her individual awareness abruptly. A wave of exhaustion hit her as she opened her eyes and looked around. The sun was setting and she realized hours must have passed. Loki lay on the roof, and she sat next to him with the fingers of one hand lightly resting on his temple. Thor stood between them and the rest of the Avengers, obviously preventing them from interrupting.

Black Widow held the staff Loki had once wielded, and Jane noticed that the glow had left the stone. The Tesseract sat silent, and the portal overhead was gone. How..? Jane asked her silently.

_Erik built a failsafe; the staff was used to close the Portal,_ she responded. Jane smiled.

"Jane!" Thor called as soon as he noticed her eyes open. "You are well? And Loki?"

"Loki," the God of Mischief opened his eyes slowly as he replied for himself, "is fine. Battered but intact." Jane scooted back from him as Loki pushed himself to a seated position. Their eyes met for a moment and recognition flared between them before Jane dropped her eyes.

"Loki!" Thor dropped down at Loki's side in Jane's vacated spot. His hand dropped heavily on to Loki's shoulder and the smaller man flinched just slightly. But he lifted his chin proudly and green eyes met blue. "You are yourself again!" Thor beamed. "I am glad to see it, Brother."

Loki seemed startled but his mouth quirked in a small smile. Jane noticed that it lacked the malicious edge that all of Loki's smiles had held previously. She thought she might like to get to know this Loki a little better and then realized that she wasn't sure she needed to. She noticed all kinds of little things about him; the way his eyes darkened when he looked around and saw the Avengers watching, how his fingers twitched as if he were restraining the impulse to reach out for something... or possibly someone, the way he drew himself inward as if waiting for a pronouncement of doom to fall on his shoulders. Small reactions that she didn't think even Thor noticed.

Jane realized that, aside from Erik whom she had known all her life, she probably knew Loki better than anyone there. Better than she knew Thor. And all of a sudden she felt guilty. She knew how much Loki valued his privacy, and in her attempt to help him she had unknowingly invaded his privacy more than anyone else possibly could have.

"Are you alright, miss?" a soft voice broke into Jane's thoughts. She looked up to see Captain America crouched down beside her, a look of concern in his eyes.

"I'm okay," she answered. "Just tired and a little overwhelmed."

"I can imagine," he replied, his eyes clearing when she responded. "Would you like some help inside? I'm Steve Rogers."

Jane glanced at Thor and Loki and nodded when they seemed preoccupied by the other Avengers beginning to close in on them. "That would be good. Think we can convince them," she tilted her head to indicate the others, "to move the party inside? It's not Loki's fault, but I suppose they don't know that."

She let Steve help her to her feet and she swayed slightly before catching her balance. She felt light-headed and a little unstable, but she clamped down on the feeling. She wasn't going to be shuffled aside this time. Not when she held too many pieces of the puzzle.

* * *

TBC...


	4. Chapter 3: Explanations

**A/N:** Thanks to the people who have reviewed and/or messaged me about this story. You're the reasons I'm still posting! It is going a little slower than I'd like, but I am working on it. I promise. This chapter is where you'll begin to see what I'd call real writing, where we're done recapping what I changed in the movie and have moved on to the story proper. :)

* * *

Chapter 3

"The Lady is right," Captain America spoke up to the others. "We should all move inside before someone catches sight of us up here." The sound of the wind was his only answer, though no one objected outright.

The heroes watched warily as Thor and Loki got to their feet. Iron Man stepped forward and blocked their path before they could move towards the stairs. "How do we know this isn't another ploy to buy time?" Iron Man demanded, his tone suspicious even though his expressions were hidden by the mask. "Maybe we should just take him down now before anything else happens."

"It's not a trick, Mr. Stark," Jane spoke up, breaking into the tension before Thor could object. Pure determination was the only thing keeping the exhaustion from her voice, though perhaps not from her eyes. "I promise I will explain, but not out here."

"What about that?" Agent Romanov jerked her head towards the Tesseract. "Surely you don't expect us to leave it here."

With a soft sigh, Jane held out her hand and silently called the Tesseract to her. Steve watched Jane carefully, noting the look of intense concentration on her face. But everyone, including Steve, looked startled when the machine started to disassemble on its own until the Tesseract was free; it floated through the air and settled into Jane's hand. Well, almost into her hand; it actually hovered just above it, as she had no desire to touch it physically for a second time. Without a word, Jane headed for the stairs into the building.

A very surprised Avengers team followed her inside. Jane could hear someone whispering behind her but she ignored it as best she could. She couldn't hear what was being said, so she pretended not to hear it at all.

Once inside, Jane waited for Iron Man to step out of his suit before asking him where they should go. He led them out of the trashed living room, Jane carefully skirting the huge hole of broken flooring, and down a long hall to a conference room. Jane flopped into the nearest chair, at the end of one side, and let the Tesseract settle onto the table in front of her as the others filed into the room and found seats. Tony Stark gravitated to the head of the table, unsurprisingly.

A gentle hand settled onto Jane's shoulder and she looked up into Thor's worried eyes. "Are you quite well, Jane Foster?"

Jane shook her head and tried to smile. "I'm tired, that's all, Thor. It wasn't easy."

"I did not think it would be," Thor replied gently. "Thanks to you, it was easier than I expected. You have my gratitude." Thor took the seat to Jane's left, between her and the other Avengers. Loki, to Jane's surprise, took the seat at the foot of the table immediately to her right. He folded his hands under his chin, and she could tell that he was deliberately keeping his hands in sight and away from the Tesseract. She was not surprised by the fact that chairs were left empty between Loki and the Avengers. Jane idly wondered where Erik had disappeared to, but thought perhaps he had been sent to get checked out by a doctor after being tossed around on the roof.

"Where's Erik?" Jane asked before anyone else could begin posing questions.

"Erik Selvig was sent to your healers about the wound on his head," Thor told her. "He will be well."

"So how about you explain what happened out there?" Tony said, breaking into the conversation before it went further. His expression was carefully blank, but his eyes held more than a little suspicion and doubt.

"I'd rather like to know who everyone is, first, if you don't mind," retorted Jane in a snappy tone. Being as tired as she was, she didn't really want to do this now. But if she had to, she wanted to know who she was talking to first.

Steve Rogers blinked a moment before smiling a bit. Jane reminded him just a little bit of Peggy Carter, with her forthright attitude and obvious intelligence. "Thor you apparently know already," he began, then worked his way around the table. "Beside him is Dr. Bruce Banner, Mr. Tony Stark, Agent Barton and Agent Romanov." Steve ignored the glares from the others; what she asked for was only polite.

"Thank you," Jane said with a small smile. "I'm Jane Foster."

"Of the Foster Theory?" Dr. Banner spoke up from his place down the table. "Stable wormholes between worlds?"

"That's me," Jane replied, a little surprised that he knew of her. "Though no one really took me seriously until SHIELD, when Thor dropped in on us the first time."

"I'd love to discuss your theories sometime," Dr. Banner replied, real interest in his tone.

"I hope we can," Jane answered with a small smile. It wasn't every day she met someone who gave her due credit for her theories. "Well, anyway. I figure you've all heard the start of the story, but I'm going to start there just in case. I was working with Erik and SHIELD at some base somewhere, trying to figure out how to use this thing," she gestured at the cube of the Tesseract sitting innocently on the table in front of her. "One night the power started to spike, and it resisted all our attempts to power it down. A portal formed and Loki arrived through it. He used the staff to take control of some of us - I'm pretty sure it was the staff, either a power of the gem or channeled through it because anybody who could directly control the minds of other people wouldn't have any reason to have a reputation for manipulation or a nickname like Silvertongue and oh, God, I'm rambling aren't I? Sorry, anyway," Jane blushed but plowed on; she tried to pretend that she couldn't see Loki's smirk or the bemused looks from Thor and Steve.

"So we went elsewhere; I don't exactly know where because I wasn't really in control of myself at the time. We started working on almost the same thing, really; a way to stabilize and harness the Tesseract's energy. We were part-way through the process when I came into contact with her. And then, I don't know how, she spoke to me." Jane paused, seeing looks of confusion. "The Tesseract," she tried to explain. "Her voice sounds like a woman's. And I could hear her, in my mind. She said that I was different, and that she needed my help. She said what was happening wasn't meant to be, and that we had to stop it." Out of the corner of her eye, Jane caught a look of shock on Loki's face, though it was quickly masked. Probably only someone who knew him well would have even seen it.

"It talks to you? In your mind." Tony sounded skeptical and it showed on his face.

"I don't know if I really heard a voice," Barton spoke up, "but when it showed me things, it had a softer touch than I was expecting. I can see how it might sound feminine to someone who can hear it."

Jane smiled her thanks at the unexpected support; everyone else had expressions of doubt but the agent's words seemed to settle at least some of it. "So she talked to me. She cleared my mind of the magical control and said something about unlocking my potential. I think she meant psychic potential; I certainly had never heard voices in my head before or felt the presence of a friend nearby. But I do now. And I know psychic phenomena have been popping up in humanity for ages, and there are several theories that we could all use psychic ability if we had access to those portions of our brains, but there's just so much we don't know." Jane hesitated a moment before getting back to her story. But they weren't likely to believe her if she held back on the truth now, so she had to tell them. "Because of that… I dunno, power I guess, I was able to feel the compulsions on everyone else. While they were working, I used the time to learn. The Tesseract helped some, but I had to practice a lot. I was getting close to being able to break the compulsions on the others when we came here. For some reason the Tesseract couldn't actually break the spell on anyone she couldn't fully communicate with; she's powerful but not really gifted or something like that. Or maybe she couldn't without the risk of damaging their minds." Jane felt a quiet wave of agreement from the Tesseract, as well as a touch of concern over the exhaustion that was threatening to overwhelm her, and tried not to smile.

"But here's the thing," Jane went on, the story getting easier to tell as she neared the conclusion. "I learned to use my mind to divert the thoughts of others away from me, so they wouldn't get suspicious of my inactivity on the project. I didn't know if they'd tell Loki or not, so I just made sure they didn't notice. When I tried to do the same thing with Loki, I realized that his mind was being controlled too. Not as completely as ours, maybe, but it was definitely there. I don't think it controlled his every thought and action, but it influenced the way he reacted to things."

"So that's what you meant when you said it wasn't really his fault," Steve said softly.

Jane nodded. "If you don't hold me, or Erik, or Agent Barton even, to be responsible for what we did while under his control… can you really deny that same understanding to Loki?"

* * *

TBC...


	5. Chapter 4: Dissent

**A/N: **My apologies for the delay in getting this chapter posted. As we get closer to the winter holidays, my free time keeps decreasing. I will do the best I can, I promise!

* * *

Chapter 4

Silence answered her for a long moment. "You are both wise and gracious, Jane Foster," Thor said quietly. "So when you told me you could help him, you meant to break the magics controlling him?"

"I did, though I'm not sure I'd call what I did magic," she agreed. "I couldn't just break the controls, though. They were too subtle, too well intertwined for that. I had to undo them, to find them and remove the pathways they changed. Otherwise the controls might have been gone but not their influence on the way he thinks."

"What do you mean?" Steve asked for clarification. He was paying serious attention to what she said; he thought she was being entirely honest and deserved his attention.

Jane thought long and hard about how to answer. "Okay, you know how when you exercise your body gets used to moving in certain ways?" She paused and saw Steve nod. "Your thoughts can follow a certain pattern in a similar way. You get accustomed to thinking that way, and it becomes easier over time. Whatever these controls were, they were set to overlay the normal pathways and shift the direction of thoughts so that the outcome was always the one desired by the controller, not the way the mind would usually function."

"And you had to remove those… shunts, for lack of a better term. So that normal thought patterns could resume?" Dr. Banner asked. Jane nodded, happy that her explanation made sense to at least some of the group.

"You've been awfully silent through all this, Reindeer Games," Tony said, spearing Loki with a steely glare. "You don't seem the type to let others speak for you."

Loki met Tony's stare evenly. "Does it seem so strange that I would wish to hear Lady Foster's tale from her viewpoint?" he asked after a moment of heavy silence. Keeping his expression neutral was nothing new to the trickster. In truth, he was more than a little startled by Jane's sincere defense of him and he wondered at her motivations. Was there something she wanted of him? He had the feeling that was not the reason, but he couldn't help but wonder. Perhaps it was to please Thor, but she genuinely seemed to believe her words and if she just wished to help Thor she would not be so convincing.

"Would you have believed him if Loki had told part of the tale instead?" Thor interjected, his expression doubtful.

"Probably not," Romanov conceded. "I'm not entirely sure I believe it anyway."

"So think about this," Jane said. "When under control of the staff, what color were everyone's eyes?"

"A rather eerie pale blue, as I recall," Tony said, his voice thoughtful.

"Agent Barton, would you care to tell them what color Loki's eyes were while we were all with him?" Jane went on.

"Definitely blue," the agent answered as requested.

Jane turned to look at Loki's obviously green eyes. He looked back, a measure of respect showing in the emerald depths.

"And I'm sure Thor can confirm that blue is not the natural color of Loki's eyes," Jane added as she turned back to look around at the group.

Thor nodded his agreement. "Indeed. Never had I seen Loki with blue eyes before today."

"And you can't say that psychic ability among humans is unknown," Jane continued. "It's not common but it's not impossible. Someone had to have been able to accomplish things like that at some point in order for there to be **so** much information about it."

"Okay, okay," Tony gave in. "So it's looking like all of this was planned by someone else. So who really wants to conquer Earth?"

Everybody looked at Loki; even Jane didn't know the answer to that question. "Thanos," Loki answered quietly. Not that they would have any real idea what they were up against, but it would not help his position if he kept that information from them.

"The Titan?" Thor asked with a confused expression, one which was mirrored around the room. "What would he want with Midgard?"

"Not the realm, in itself," Loki replied with a brief shake of his head.

"He wants the Tesseract," Jane said slowly. "He wants her power." Loki nodded agreement. "Even more so if we've already figured out how to harness and stabilize it," Jane continued, thinking aloud. "If we had a way to open portals to places we have coordinates for, he could literally go anywhere eventually. Any world, any Realm…" Jane trailed off, her eyes gleaming in excitement as she thought about the possibilities. Then her expression darkened. "We can't let him have her. I'm not sure we can keep her here. It's not safe."

"We should take it back to Asgard," Thor asserted. "The warriors of Asgard are unmatched in the Realms; we can keep it safe."

"Hey now, we didn't do so bad a job ourselves," Tony bristled.

"Neither Thanos nor I was stopped by you," Loki interjected in his more usual arrogant tone. "Lady Foster and the Tesseract together relocated the portal before the bulk of Thanos' forces could move in. They determined what was going on and they moved to stop it." Loki inclined his head to Jane in a gesture of gratitude. "I appreciate her effort, and Thor's, to see me free of Thanos' influence. Without that, I do not see how your people could have stopped what was planned."

The Avengers all bristled, except for Thor. Thor only said, "Do not underestimate them, Brother. These are allies and not without power here in their Realm."

Loki nodded. "I am aware of their powers. But they are limited in number and cannot be everywhere at once. As well, the Chitauri are strong and have their own advanced weaponry. The odds would not have been good, had the portal not been diverted."

"And yet a mortal scientist was able to divert your portal and stop you," Tony replied, his arrogance a counter to Loki's.

"Only because the Tesseract aided her; something none knew was possible," Loki snapped back.

"Um, right here, guys," Jane broke in, annoyed at being a point of dissent.

"My apologies, Lady Foster," Loki answered immediately with only one last glare at Tony.

Jane nodded her acceptance. "He is probably right, though; without the Tesseract, I don't think I could have broken the magic that made everyone work for him. This all could have gone much worse," she said in a resigned tone. "You might have been able to stop all this, but you might not have. We won't ever know what might have been. In either case, we do need a safe place to keep the Tesseract and I'm not sure we can do that here."

"Earth isn't ready for that kind of power, either," Steve broke in before anyone could continue the arguments, ignoring the discontented grumbling from the other end of the table. "Remember those weapon prototypes I found? Humanity has come a long way, but we're not there yet."

Jane nodded with a regretful sigh and slumped into her chair. "Steve's right," she agreed. "As much as I would love to be able to have a power source to continue my research, the Tesseract is dangerous and could too easily fall into the wrong hands right here. Nevermind ancient beings from other Realms that may want to take it from us."

"Are you alright, Dr. Foster?" Steve asked again, his eyes showing concern for the toll the day had taken on her.

"Just tired. Nothing a few cups of coffee won't solve," Jane said again. She looked around, but the conference room was lacking in amenities like a coffee pot.

"Maybe you should get some rest instead," Dr. Banner said, a look of concern on his face. "I think we know enough to take it from here."

Jane shook her head. "No; I'm in this situation far too deeply to walk away and let you guys make decisions. Super heroes or whatever, you're not making a decision like this without me." She crossed her arms and stubbornly remained in her chair.

"Director Fury won't like it if the Cube doesn't come back into SHIELD's hands," Romanov spoke up.

"Doesn't that just go to show that it shouldn't stay here?" Steve asked. Agents Romanov and Barton exchanged a look and then shrugged.

"I must return to Asgard," Thor said emphatically. "With the Tesseract AND my brother."

"Perhaps Lady Foster ought to accompany us as well," Loki suggested smoothly. "I'm sure the All-Father will have questions for her, and it's not every day a mortal makes contact with the Tesseract and survives." Loki watched as both Jane and Thor brightened at the idea of taking Jane to Asgard. He had other reasons for wanting her along; he needed to find out from her what exactly she did to him. And what was done to him before.

But he also knew, without knowing he knew, that going to Asgard was something she wanted anyway.

* * *

TBC...

**A/N:** Again, reviews are what keep me going! I would love to hear what readers think!


	6. Chapter 5: Dreaming

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone who has left a review for me! I really appreciate the feedback. And hello to my new followers! I'm glad you're enjoying the story enough to want to know when I post again.

I am going to try to keep posting consistently through the holidays; probably once a week or so. My goal thus far has been to have the next chapter completed and in review before I post a chapter; that way if I have a week that I can't get much writing done I don't have to fall behind in posting. Hopefully.

As before _italics_ indicate nonverbal communication.

* * *

Chapter 5

The Avengers argued back and forth for a while longer, but eventually agreed that the Tesseract, and Jane, should be taken to Asgard with Thor and Loki. The rest would report to SHIELD and Thor would return when he could in order to debrief as well. When the discussions concluded, Tony reluctantly agreed to allow everyone - including Loki - to stay in the tower overnight. He insisted that Thor and Loki stay in the same room, though, to which Thor agreed. Jane was given the room next door and the rest along the hall.

The Tesseract remained with Jane as well, and she set it on the bed while she washed up. Steve had warned everyone else away from touching it by telling them what happened to the Nazi he was fighting just before his plane crashed. Thor seemed to be of the opinion that it wouldn't have that effect on an Asgardian, but since it had done no harm to Jane thus far she had agreed to keep the cube.

_Would someone else be hurt by touching you?_ Jane asked the Tesseract as she got herself ready to sleep.

_I do not know,_ the Tesseract replied. _Some have been able to speak with me, as you have. Others have not. There have been times when I have been handled with tools and stored in a case or other machine. Many have used, or tried to use, the power I hold, to whatever end. My ability to prevent this is limited; I cannot physically keep it from happening. I can only try to communicate and hope the beings who can hear me are willing to help._

Jane thought about that for quite a while before replying. _I see. Will you be safe in Asgard?_

_I do not know. Perhaps if there is one among the guardians who is like you, who is able to hear and wishes only to protect and to learn._ The Tesseract sounded almost wistful to Jane, though there was still some question in her mind as to whether the Tesseract had emotions as Jane knew them.

_You told me before that what was in progress was not meant to be. Am I doing the right thing now?_ Jane asked hesitantly.

_I do not know._

* * *

Jane fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. In spite of her disturbing conversation before bed, she had fought exhaustion for too long and not even troubling thoughts could keep her awake.

That night, Jane dreamed of things she had never seen and places she had never been.

She dreamed of two little boys, one dark and one fair, running through golden halls.

She dreamed of a beautiful, golden woman whose every expression spoke of love in some way or another. A woman who always gave praise when she learned something new, whether in lessons or magic or combat.

She dreamed of a stern, lordly man who taught discipline and thoughtful fairness. Who, though loving in his own way, was often difficult to face and who held expectations difficult to live up to.

She dreamed of a battle in an icy landscape, against fierce being she knew were called Frost Giants or Jotuns. Of seeing her own hands turn blue in contact with a monster. She felt the horror of realizing that she was a monster, and the pain of having been lied to for as long as she could remember.

She remembered hanging from the bridge, and letting go in a moment of despair upon realizing that she would never be good enough for the only family she knew.

And when Jane woke up, she knew that these dreams were not dreams alone. They were memories.

* * *

Loki spent a long time lying awake that night, listening to Thor's soft snores and thinking. Examining his own mind. He could see, now, that his memories had been manipulated somewhat as well as his thinking patterns. When he had told Thor that he had been thrown from the bridge he had believed that was truly what had happened. But he could see now that it was not so; he had let go. He had not wanted to face the fact that he had failed in his attempt to be King, or the knowledge that a monster could never truly be King.

It was more difficult to discern where changes had been made to the way he thought. Anger, vengeance and a need to prove himself better had been the only things that could stay in his mind for long. Compassion and sentiment were weaknesses to be ruthlessly cut away. But while Thanos' interference in his mind had prevented him from being able to consider such emotions as valid, they hadn't gone away. Simply been buried in harsher feelings and the driving need to be vindicated.

There was no denying that his attempt on Jotunheim had been foolish; Loki saw that now. In his rage and despair over his true heritage, he'd been driven by a need to see all the monsters destroyed. But up until that point, he thought he had been a good King for Asgard; certainly better than Thor would've been. Perhaps his brother had changed since his banishment, but that remained to be seen.

Loki still felt hurt and betrayed by Frigga and Odin; the only parents he had ever known. He could understand why they didn't want his bloodline known. Laufey's son in Asgard? The court wouldn't stand for it, let alone the people! But they could have at least told him! Perhaps not as a young child, but by the time he came of age he had long since learned how to keep a secret. If only they had told him why he was different, perhaps he could have come to a better sort of acceptance.

Eventually Loki drifted to sleep as his thoughts wound themselves into circles and dead ends, questions for which he had no answers.

And Loki dreamed of a life not his.

He dreamed of camping trips into the mountains to look at the stars through a large telescope.

He dreamed of a kind, gentle man who taught him the names of the stars and where to find them in the sky.

He dreamed of a beautiful, dark-haired woman who taught him to read, to love books and learning.

He dreamed of a terrible crash that took away everyone he loved in a heartbeat. Of curling up on a hard bed in a sterile, white room and crying until there were no tears left.

He dreamed of a University where he was not only one of the youngest students but also one of a very few females in a male-dominated field of study.

He dreamed of presenting theories of interstellar travel, gateways and bridges and being laughed at. Of being determined and stubborn enough to continue ahead with those theories, even if he had to build his own equipment to make it happen.

He dreamed of the joy felt at knowing his theories were right, and then the crushing weight of being prevented from proving it to everyone who had doubted him.

The sound of Thor moving about in the room woke Loki from the last dream. The younger prince lay abed a few moments longer, contemplating the memories he had lived through in his sleep. Though outwardly he gave no sign as he rose and joined his brother, inwardly Loki smiled as he began to understand that perhaps he and Jane Foster had more in common than he would have thought.


	7. Chapter 6: Preparation

**A/N: **I wanted to get something up before we head into Christmas weekend and holiday insanity. :) This chapter is mostly fluffy and not terribly necessary, but it was fun to write and I think it helps lighten the story up just a bit.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6

Jane eventually gave up on trying to sleep. Not all the dreams were unpleasant, but she'd decided enough was enough. Instead she took a long, hot shower and spoke to the Tesseract at the same time.

_Why am I dreaming of things from his memories?_ she asked. It was more than a little disturbing, enough to keep her from really relaxing in spite of the lovely hot water.

Rather than an answer, Jane felt the Tesseract touch her mind._ Your endeavor to free his mind appears to have unintended side effects, the Tesseract replied after several moments. Your mind now contains some of his memories. Given your inexperience and the way your mind works, it's possible that his mind also contains some of yours._

"Oh, joy," Jane said sarcastically, both mentally and aloud. "Just what I needed." She finished washing up and stepped out of the shower. She hated the idea of putting on dirty clothes after getting clean, so she wrapped up in a towel and decided to check the closet.

Jackpot! The closet was full of clothes, mostly women's and all of them WAY nicer than she would usually. "Wow. I wonder if I could borrow something…" Jane wondered out loud.

"I would be happy to inquire, if you'd like, Miss," a prissy voice sounded in the room.

Jane jumped and whirled around, holding her towel tighter around her body. "Who's there?"

"I am JARVIS, Mr. Stark's voice-interface AI," it explained to her. Jane thought it - he? - sounded both proud and resigned at the same time. "Much of the clothing usually kept in this room belongs to Miss Potts. If you would like to borrow something, I can inquire."

"Um, sure. That would be great, thanks," Jane replied.

"A moment, Miss," JARVIS was silent for several minutes. While she waited, Jane browsed through the closet. Most of the contents were elegantly tailored suits and dresses, but Jane looked to see if she could find something simpler. She couldn't imagine walking in some of the coordinating heeled shoes.

"I spoke with Miss Potts," JARVIS' voice returned after a moment. "She has…" the AI's speech was interrupted by a sudden knock at the door, making Jane jump. "...offered to come assist you."

Jane looked around for her t-shirt and underwear and only just then noticed they were missing. She snatched a robe off the hook on the closet door and slid into it. "Okay, I guess she can come in," Jane answered as she hastily tied the belt. She watched as an elegant redheaded woman entered. Jane could only gawk at the woman's classic beauty and casual grace; it was something she had never even imagined possessing herself.

"Sorry to disturb you," the woman said, quickly closing the door behind her. "I'm Pepper Potts; please feel free to call me Pepper. I thought you might appreciate some help; if Tony had told me you were staying here with the rest, I'd have tried to make sure you had something to wear this morning."

"Oh, please, don't worry about me," Jane demured. "I don't want to cause any trouble."

Pepper smiled. "It's no trouble. I actually enjoy making sure things run smoothly."

Jane cracked a smile. "I'm sure Mr. Stark needs a lot of looking after," she said, a little tongue in cheek.

"You have NO idea!" Pepper answered with a laugh. "Well, let's start with the basics." She studied Jane's figure for a moment, then shook her head. "Some of my clothes may fit you fine, but I think we're different sizes in underwear. Just one moment." Jane waited quietly as Pepper pulled out a cell phone and dialed someone. "Hi, Gina? It's Pepper. Would you mind stopping by the Macy's for me on your way to the tower this morning? Great. I need a neutral bra, size…" she paused for a moment and Jane stuttered out her answer. Pepper repeated it into the phone, and then added underwear size as well. "Thanks, Gina. Just bring me the receipt and I'll be sure to cover it. See you soon."

Pepper snapped the phone shut and put it away again. "All handled. Don't worry, Gina's in security so she was definitely still on her way in. JARVIS?" Jane stayed silent, a little overwhelmed by Pepper's efficiency.

"Yes, Miss Potts?" the AI replied.

"Call down to the security office and tell them that Gina Mattisson will be late on my instructions."

"Certainly." Jane noted that the AI was nothing if not efficiently courteous.

"Thank you," Pepper said before turning her attention back to Jane. She blinked and then smiled at the startled look Jane wore.

"I appreciate the help," Jane said quietly. "You didn't have to do that, but thank you."

Pepper shook her head and smiled. "Maybe I didn't, but I wanted to. Besides, if you're going to Asgard like Tony said, I'd like to help make sure you start out feeling good about it." Pepper stepped over to Jane and put a gentle hand on the shorter woman's shoulder. "And to be honest," she went on quietly, "it's nice to focus on something simple for a little while. I don't often have the opportunity to have girl time."

Jane summoned a smile and a nod in reply. "Neither do I, really. Okay, let's be girly," she said with a soft laugh. "I may not have the most impressive figure, but I'm going to stand out if all Asgardians are so tall, so I might as well be something to look at. Right?"

"That's the spirit," Pepper agreed. "Let's see what we can find to fit you."

They browsed the closet for half an hour or so, setting their possible choices out on the bed and genuinely enjoying each other's company. It wasn't until JARVIS interrupted them that they realized how much time had passed. "Miss Potts, Miss Foster?"

"Yes, JARVIS?" Pepper asked, pausing their discussion of a particular dress.

"Your delivery has arrived. Shall I have her admitted to the living area?"

"Yes, please, JARVIS." Pepper looked at Jane. "I'll just step out to get that," she offered gently. "I'm sure with all the men in the tower, you'd rather not be seen just yet."

"Sure. Thanks, Pepper," Jane said. She sat on the bed with a small smile while Pepper left the room. She wasn't alone for long, but it was long enough to catch her breath. She hadn't spent so much time discussing clothes and colors in years!

Pepper returned after a few minutes, carrying a bag from Macy's and a tea cart bearing coffee, toast and fruit. "It's not much, but better than missing breakfast. Then we can get you dressed.

* * *

Loki leaned against the wall in Stark's conference room wall, silently watching Thor pace. They'd been told over an hour ago that Jane Foster was awake but they had yet to see her appear. Thor was getting impatient.

"Dude, chill," Stark spoke up from across the room. "Women always take forever to get ready for anything."

"Never before have I seen Jane Foster take so long to prepare," Thor disagreed.

"Have you ever been planning to take her to Asgard?" Tony quipped. "I'm sure she's not going to want to go see a King in jeans and a shirt."

Thor frowned. "Perhaps there is merit in what you say. I had not considered…"

Thor trailed off as a pretty red-haired woman walked into the room. She held the door open for someone else and stood back to watch as every male in the room stared.

Jane walked into the room a little shyly, though her eyes twinkled with humor when she took in the stunned silence. The dress she wore was the shade of blue twilight, before the sky gets truly dark. The full skirt of the dress fell to mid-calf at the front and just barely brushed the floor at the back; on Pepper the back would've reached her ankles, but Jane was shorter. The dress flared at the hips and was fitted through the bodice; the sweetheart neckline accented her cleavage and led up to short butterfly sleeves. The dress had a deeper blue sash at the waist, and she wore blue leather flats on her feet. Pepper had also loaned her a dark sapphire necklace and earrings to finish off the outfit.

All together, Jane figured the ensemble probably cost more than her last grant. But it was almost worth it for the reaction she was getting. She hoped it impressed the people of Asgard just as much.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Jane said into the stunned silence of the room. Pepper silently handed her a shoulder bag; they had packed up Jane's newly-washed clothes after Pepper explained that the housekeeper had picked them up while Jane was in the shower. Jane had decided that she might want at least one comfortable, familiar outfit even in Asgard and wanted to take them with her. The Tesseract was also settled into the bag, her power output dimmed enough to allow contact with such things.

Tony was the first to recover and he whistled softly. "You look great, sweetheart," he said with a wink. "Pep, your excellent taste shines through as always," he offered with a wink to his fiancee.

"You do look quite lovely, Lady Foster," Loki agreed, recovering his wit and his tongue before his brother. He moved to take her hand and bowed over it, placing a very light kiss on her fingertips. "I do believe the ladies of Asgard have some competition coming," he murmured, just loud enough for the two women to hear.

Thor finally gathered his wits together and gave Jane a beaming smile. "You look wonderful, Jane." He also stepped over to take her hand and press a kiss to the back. Jane returned his smile and blushed a little from all the attention.

"Thank you, all of you," she said as she looked around the room. "I'm ready to go, if you are."

"Do us a favor and keep in touch, alright?" Tony asked as he stepped over to wrap an arm around Pepper. "We'd like to know how things are going up there."

"I'll do my best," Jane agreed. "We may have to invent the inter-Realm phone system, though," she added with a laugh.

"We'll work on it," Tony agreed, chuckling. "A new challenge."

Jane looked at Thor and Loki. "So, how are we getting back to Asgard?"

Thor looked a little troubled. "Father said that the Tesseract could bring us back," he began.

Jane frowned a little, and her eyes took on a slightly distant look as she turned her thoughts to it. _Can you?_

_It is possible, particularly with your assistance. I cannot touch their minds as you can; do you have an image in your mind of where we must go?_ the Tesseract explained in her soft tone.

"She says it's possible. Where are we supposed to go?" Jane asked. "We'd need a safe place to arrive."

"The Bifrost is being rebuilt, but for now the gate to the bridge should be safe enough," Thor explained. His words brought to mind a hazy image of a great gate and a pathway of glittering rainbows. _Is that enough?_

_We will manage. It may be best if you go outside first, however._

"Okay, but we should go outside. I don't think we need to do more damage to Mr. Stark's tower today," Jane said, slanting a glance at Tony.

"I appreciate the thought," Tony quipped. "And please, it's just Tony. Mr. Stark makes me think of my dad." Jane accepted that with a nod and a smile before the group headed back up to the roof.

* * *

TBC...

Though probably not until after the holiday. Stay tuned!


	8. Chapter 7: Asgard

**A/N:** I'm doing my best to keep updates at a week apart or less. Thank you to my faithful few who review every chapter or nearly. To my other readers - I would love to hear what you think as well!

As always, _italics_ are nonverbal speech.

* * *

Chapter 7

They gathered on the roof, Thor and Loki on either side of Jane. Tony and Pepper stood across from them. Jane closed her eyes and focused on the Tesseract, now just above her hands instead of in her bag. _Ready?_ she asked.

_Focus on the destination. And brace yourself,_ was the reply.

What happened was not at all what Tony had expected. There was no portal, no visible path of travel. Instead Jane's group appeared first to blur, surrounded by light, and then they began to fade from view. When the trio had disappeared, Tony led Pepper back inside. "Don't worry. They'll be fine," he assured her as they went downstairs.

For Jane, travel via the Tesseract was like nothing she had ever felt before. It was bright, light everywhere, but though her eyes saw light she felt nothing. No wind, no sense of motion, just the light and the mental image of the gate they sought.

Their arrival was abrupt, almost jarring. Jane went from the sensation of nothingness to a sudden pressure as her feet came into contact with a flat surface. She might have lost her balance, if not for the Asgardians flanking her; both reached out a steadying hand as they saw her waver.

"I'm alright, I'm alright," she assured them as she regained her equilibrium. She tucked the Tesseract back into her bag so she wouldn't have to focus on keeping it aloft. "Wow, that was pretty amazing," she began to comment on the journey when the sight of the city before her came into focus and stole away her words.

The city was gorgeous. It sat like an island in a vivid blue sea, water which fell off the edge nearby and all around. There appeared to be multiple levels, with homes and other buildings slowly tiering upwards to the palace that sat on the summit. "Wow…" was the only thing she could say, and that in a whisper.

"Welcome to our home, Lady Jane," Thor said proudly as he watched Jane take in the view. He took her arm and urged her to walk with him as he approached the great golden gate. The gate swung open at their approach, and Jane couldn't tell if it was due to magic or if someone had seen them arrive. "Come, we must go to see Father."

"Oh, must we?" she asked, then blushed as she realized that she sounded like a child.

Loki's dry chuckle prevented Jane from saying anything more. "I suppose we must, if only to get it out of the way. I'm sure there will be time for you to study everything in sight later, Milady," he commented. "Perhaps, if all goes well, we might show you the observatory later." Loki slanted a glance at Thor, tacitly including him despite knowing how his brother never had the patience to sit and study anything let alone something as unmoving as the stars. But seeing Jane's face light up entirely at the suggestion prevented Thor from refusing entirely.

"Perhaps tonight," Thor conceded. "For now, we'd best not put off reporting in."

The three stepped through the gates, Loki and Jane trailing behind Thor. Jane walked slowly, partly because she was unaccustomed to the finery she wore and partly because she was looking avidly around as they moved. Loki lingered as well, intending to make sure she didn't get lost as Thor walked briskly ahead. They managed to stay mostly together, though, as Jane continually told herself that there'd be more time to look later and simply took in the sights as they went.

As they moved through the city, Jane realized that the palace was much further away than it looked. She was almost grateful when a small group of mounted guards arrived, bringing with them additional horses. The leader of the group dismounted and saluted smartly. "My Princes. I am bid escort you to the palace."

Thor beamed a smile and nodded acceptance of the salute. Loki only raised an eyebrow at the obvious courtesy of the guards and nodded as well. "Then together we ride," Thor agreed. He was pleased to see Dalli, his personal mount, and swung himself into the saddle. Loki was mildly surprised to see that they brought his own Trostann as well and was about to approach when he saw the expression on Jane's face.

She looked uncertain, almost afraid.

Loki stepped over to her side and murmured, "I presume you have not ridden a horse before, Lady Foster?" She shook her head in silent reply and Loki smothered a smile. "I assure you, Kolfinna is a sweet-tempered mount who will not bring you to harm."

Jane slanted an uncertain glance at him but nodded again and stepped over to the dark, chocolatey brown mare. She held out her hand and smiled a bit when the horse nosed it. She tentatively stroked the horse's soft nose before moving around to the side. The saddle was intimidatingly high up and she knew she was going to look ridiculous trying to get up there, particularly in a long dress.

"Will you allow me to assist?" Loki offered. Seeing her so obviously disturbed bothered him more than he cared to admit, and in his mind Loki softly cursed his obtuse brother for abandoning Jane to this situation.

"Please," was Jane's grateful reply. In the back of her mind she heard a soft whisper of a curse and recognized Loki's voice, but heard nothing more aloud. She turned to offer Loki a small smile and was a taken aback when he placed his hands on her waist and effortlessly lifted her up into the saddle. She sat sideways across the horse's back and fought to keep her balance.

"If you care to hook your knee around the saddlehorn, you'll be better stabilized," Loki advised softly as he reached around to gather up the reins. He handed the straps up to Jane once she complied and was a bit more settled. She offered him another smile, which Loki returned before swiftly mounting his own horse.

Thor looked on, his expression one of confusion until he saw how awkwardly Jane sat on the horse at first. It had never occurred to him that she would not know how to ride, despite the 'cars' that he knew were so common on her world.

The guards, seeing everyone situated, fell into formation around them as the group began to ride towards the palace. Travel this way was much swifter and would see them all arrive in a more timely fashion.

Once Jane relaxed into the horse's movement, she found the perspective even better for observing the city around her. The mare obediently followed the rest of the group with little direction from Jane herself, which was just as well because Jane didn't know how to give direction.

They arrived all together too soon for Jane's liking. She knew she had agreed to this, but she wasn't looking forward to explaining things to Odin. She only hoped he was more open-minded and willing to listen than Thor had been when he first arrived on Earth.

The guards escorted them down a long hallway and up to a huge set of double doors. More guards there opened the door for them and someone inside called out, "Princes Thor and Loki and Lady Foster of Midgard to see the All-Father!"

"Lovely," Jane muttered under her breath. "Public disclosure; just what I needed." She closed her eyes for a moment in order to focus her mind and so missed the confused look on Thor's face or the brief expression of amusement on Loki's. Still, when the others went in she followed behind. She kept her eyes straight ahead and her chin lifted stubbornly, doing her best to ignore the courtiers standing to either side of the long hall. She wondered if this was the Hall of Gladsheim she had read about in Erik's old Norse mythology books when she was younger.

Thor strode confidently down the long hall, no longer showing off for the courtiers as he once might have but still secure in his position here. Loki matched his pace, his head held high and his expression carefully neutral. He heard a few jeers from among the assembled but did his best to ignore them.

Odin stood as they reached the foot of the dais and the room fell to silence at a gesture from him. He looked sternly down at his sons and the young lady between them. "We have heard reports of the events on Midgard from The Guardian, and so we welcome home our sons. All shall adjourn while we hear further of what has occurred," Odin ordered. Slowly the large hall emptied of all but a few advisors; when only they remained, Odin said, "We will meet in the council hall to hear this tale." He nodded to the advisors and they moved towards a door off to one side of the throne.

Slowly, Odin descended from the dais and came to stand before Loki. Unable to meet his foster father's eyes, Loki instead bowed. "All-Father," he said by way of greeting. He was entirely startled when he felt Odin's hands on his shoulders. Odin pulled Loki up and into his arms and it took Loki several moments to tentatively return the embrace.

Jane felt awkward to be witnessing the family reunion and fell back several paces. She allowed her gaze to roam the hall, though the acoustics of the place meant that she couldn't help but hear when they spoke. Still, she tried to give the three men a modicum of privacy.

"My son," Odin said in a hushed voice. "I feared I would never see you return."

Loki allowed the embrace to last a few moments longer before he pulled away. He could detect no insincerity in Odin, either in tone or in demeanor. "F-father," Loki said, his silver tongue failing him for once. "I never thought…"

Odin shook his head. "We can speak of that later, with your mother. For now, just know that we are glad of your return." He then looked to Thor and held out his hand. "And yours as well, Thor. You have done well."

"Thank you, Father," Thor said, taking Odin's hand for a long moment. "But I fear I would not have fared so well without Lady Jane."

Loki was a little startled to hear Thor admitting to a chance of failure, though he did his best to keep from showing it. Perhaps his brother was finally maturing.

Odin released his sons and approached Jane. She heard him coming and turned to face him, curtseying awkwardly. "All-Father," she said quietly, echoing Loki's earlier greeting. She didn't know how else to address the man.

"So you are the young woman who returned to me not one but two sons," Odin commented after studying her for a moment. "For that, you have my thanks. I look forward to hearing the full tale."

His comment took Jane aback for a moment, but she nodded. "Yes, sir," she agreed, knowing that this was part of why she had been brought here.

"Good," Odin said. "We should join the council, in that case." Odin held out his arm to Jane, and she tentatively took it. It felt very strange to walk beside him and to have Thor and Loki fall into step behind them. But perhaps after the past few weeks she ought to get used to strange things happening.

* * *

TBC...

**A/N: **So... what do you think? I'd love to know!


	9. Chapter 8: Meeting the Council

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed or messaged me comments! I appreciate it.

Quite a few people commented on my characterization of Odin, so I thought I'd share my viewpoint. What little we see of Odin in the first Thor movie was rather different than what he became in the third movie. He has a certain degree of arrogance, and he's definitely stern and even authoritarian at times. But I don't see how his sons would love him so much if he were the kind of jerk that many people write him out to be. I see him as a firm parent, strict and demanding. If you're not doing your best, then what you've done isn't good enough. If you've put everything you can into achieving something, then he's proud of you and what you accomplished.

Loki's view of himself always being in Thor's shadow is in some ways younger child syndrome. It can't be that their parents always gave Thor preference, simply that Loki felt he could never measure up to Thor. They are two very different people, after all. It's like being the younger brother of the high school football star when you'd rather be in the science lab... ;)

Anyway, enjoy the new chapter! It is a little shorter than the past couple, but not by too much. Mostly because I don't feel the need to keep repeating the first few chapters. And please keep reviewing!

* * *

Chapter 8

Jane spent over an hour telling Odin, Frigga and their advisors about the things she had experienced over the last several weeks. The meeting had gotten off to a rocky start, with several of the advisors objecting to the presence of a mere mortal and a female one at that. Loki smirked at their prejudice and rather enjoyed listening to Jane tell them off. She'd beaten Odin with the speed of her reply.

"Surely she cannot have more to tell us than Thor would," one had objected as Odin led her to a seat at the table.

"Well, since Thor wasn't the one speaking with the Tesseract, I don't know who else is going to tell you about that," Jane snapped. She hadn't ever thought she had an inner feminist, but she was well used to derision. "Maybe you should wait to hear what I have to say before you dismiss me as 'merely' mortal, you know? I'd have thought you Asgardians with your long lives would've learned a little patience and tolerance by now." A shocked silence was her only answer for several long moments; she'd even startled herself with the vehemence of her words. Then Jane saw Loki's lips quirk into a small smile and relaxed marginally.

"You will have to forgive them, Lady Jane," Frigga spoke up finally with a small smile. "We have no record of anyone ever speaking with the Tesseract, neither Asgardian nor mortal. But please be patient with us and we will listen to what you have to say." Frigga's voice was gentle but firm, and none of the advisors dared naysay the Queen.

So Jane told them about what she experienced. It was a long tale, and several of her listeners seemed skeptical at points. She tried very hard to focus on her story, but as she spoke she couldn't help but hear some unspoken thoughts from others in the room. Few of them complimentary, some of them rather snide. But they weren't spoken aloud, and Jane felt she could hardly take offense at something not said. It was difficult to keep her composure, though. Thor vouched for her honesty and told his parts of the tale as well, and that helped to quell some of what she "heard".

Loki remained silent through most of the tale-telling. He had heard it all the night prior, of course, and he did not feel that Odin's counselors would respond well to his input. They never had before, so why think they would begin now.

As his thoughts drifted, Loki realized that he had not managed to lose the attention of the entire room. Though everyone listened to Jane, and occasionally Thor, tell the tale, Frigga's eyes remained on Loki much of the time. When he met her gaze she smiled at him; a warm, brilliant smile that said everything she had not yet been able to. She was happy he had returned, and she had missed him. He could tell just from her eyes.

Loki managed to return her smile with a small one of his own. Though the future was full of uncertainty, this was the only home he had ever known. He had never wanted to lose his family, he simply wanted to be accepted for himself. To make his parents as proud of him as they had always been proud of Thor.

Jane slanted a look at Loki while Thor was speaking. For whatever reason, his silent musings were somewhat more apparent to her than the others. She didn't hear everything, of course; he actually seemed to be better than most at keeping his thoughts to himself. But when he wasn't paying attention, rather a lot got through to her.

She wished for a way to block it all out. Perhaps with its long history and obvious use of magic, someone on Asgard had once had an ability like her. Perhaps it wasn't all that rare - though Thor had seemed rather taken aback by it - and there would be someone who could actually teach her. Jane decided she would have to do some investigating.

"Thank you, Lady Foster," Odin spoke into the silence after Jane and Thor stopped speaking. "We will have to carefully consider these events before we determine a course of action." With that, the meeting broke up. The men broke up into smaller groups and left the room a few at a time, discussing what they had heard.

Jane gave a sigh of relief and leaned back into her chair with her eyes closed. She was glad that was over, though she suspected it was only the beginning. She just had to find a way to block out other people's thoughts. It would make her more comfortable. She felt the weight of someone's eyes on her and slowly opened her eyes to find the All-Father regarding her steadily.

"Forgive me, Lady Foster, but I have one more question I must ask you," Odin began. Jane nodded and waited for whatever he wanted to ask. She suspected she knew what it would be, but amazingly enough she could not hear his thoughts before he spoke. "Where is the Tesseract now?"

"I have her here with me," Jane replied readily enough. "We all felt it would be safer here in Asgard than on Earth - I mean Midgard," she went on. "She - the Tesseract - has told me that there have been some few in the past with the ability to hear her speak; she hopes there will be one among whatever guardians you feel she needs."

"I have never before heard of such a thing," Odin said thoughtfully. "But if it is at all possible, I will consider it."

Jane smiled and nodded. She picked up her bag from the floor beside her chair and brought the Tesseract out, again without touching it. She let the cube housing it settle onto the table in front of her.

"You have not touched it again since the first time, have you?" Frigga asked softly as she stepped over to Odin's left.

"No, Your Majesty, I have not," Jane replied.

"There is no need for such formality when it's just family, Lady Jane," Frigga admonished gently, but with a small smile.

"Yes, ma'am," Jane replied, a hint of color in her cheeks. "But, no, I generally try not to touch her directly. I know she didn't hurt me the first time but I don't know what will happen the second time. Perhaps nothing, but I'd rather be cautious."

"A wise choice," Odin agreed; he, too, had little desire to see what might happen to a mortal in repeated contact with such a device. He carefully transferred it to an empty platter on the table and picked it up himself. "I will take this to the Vault for safe keeping."

_Do you have to be nearby to talk to me?_ Jane asked the Teseract silently.

_No. I can reach across vast distances; if you call, I will hear._ That was strangely reassuring to know.

_If you need me, call,_ Jane replied. She knew it was unlikely, but it made her feel better to say it.

"Perhaps we should go freshen up before supper; after all this time speaking you must be weary." Frigga held out her hand to Jane who took it hesitantly and got to her feet. Frigga tucked Jane's hand into the curve of her arm and together the two women left the meeting hall.

Left alone together, Odin and his sons regarded each other in silence for a long moment. "You are both free to come and go as you please," Odin began, "but you may not leave Asgard until this situation is resolved," he said firmly. "And I expect to see you at dinner; we still have much to discuss as a family."

* * *

TBC...


	10. Chapter 9: Family Dinner

**A/N:** Okay, so I went on a roll today and wrote about three chapters worth of story. I still have to go back and re-read, proof read and probably make some changes. But in celebration, you get a second chapter in one day. Enjoy!

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Chapter 9

Dinner was not the boisterous affair Jane had expected from Thor's descriptions. Oh, there was plenty of commotion going on in the main dining hall; she could see and hear some of it, though it was somewhat removed. She had been led to a cozy place that was half room and half balcony over the main dining chamber. There was a large round table set for five, though it appeared to be able to seat twice that many if need be. The people below could catch glimpses of them as they entered and sat, but the family could still be reasonably private.

Jane felt as if she were intruding. Obviously she was not part of the family. But she still preferred that awkwardness over trying to eat dinner alone with the curious stares and whispers of the Asgardians below. Though Frigga had arranged for her to be brought some Asgardian attire, and some assistance in getting into it, she still stood out among the very tall folk who lived here.

"Welcome, Lady Jane," Frigga stood from the table to welcome the young woman. "Please, join us. My sons will be here shortly."

Jane smiled and took the indicated seat, to Frigga's left. Odin sat on her right and two more empty places waited for Thor and Loki. "Thank you," she said quietly. "I hope I'm not intruding too much."

"Nonsense," Odin replied. "Though I cannot promise that discussion will all be pleasant, I believe that you have earned the right to hear it."

Jane could only nod a reply, unsure what else to say. She felt out of place and wished one of the brothers would arrive. Even Loki made her feel less uncomfortable than Odin, despite knowing that she probably owed the prince an apology.

Her wish was granted moments later when Loki swept into the room. He had changed clothes as well, though he still wore green and black with hints of gold here and there. She saw his eyes widen just slightly before he gave her a nod and a small smile. "Mother, Father, Lady Foster," he said by way of greeting as he slipped into the empty chair beside Jane, leaving the last chair, between himself and Odin, for Thor.

"Please, just call me Jane," she replied, looking around to include everyone in the statement. "At least when we don't need to be formal. I'm not used to titles, really." She looked down at the table.

"My apologies," Loki said quietly to her. "I had thought that perhaps you would not want me to be too forward, using your given name. I did not wish to make you uncomfortable."

Jane offered him a small smile. "It's okay. I didn't think it was intentional," she assured him softly. Whatever this connection between them was, she could tell he was sincere.

Thor entered the dining room to the sight of Loki and Jane speaking quietly to each other and frowned slightly. He also noted the placement of the only empty chair at the table and his frown deepened. His mother caught his eye, though, and shook her head slightly at him, so Thor simply sat down in the empty seat without saying anything.

Jane looked up and smiled at Thor when he joined them. In spite of his displeasure, he returned her smile. Perhaps the seating arrangements had not been her choice, after all.

Shortly after Thor sat down, servants began to bring in plates and platters of foods; some of which Jane recognized and some of which she didn't. She resolved to try small portions of things until she decided what she liked, though there were so many choices that she could probably eat a whole meal that way and not need seconds. Pitchers of wine and mead were also brought in, and Jane decided to try the mead she had heard so much about from Thor. She also asked for some water. No point in overdoing it, and the wine was likely to be stronger here than she was used to.

"Now then," Odin began once the servants had left them alone. "While we eat, there are things you should know." The family began their dinner as Odin spoke. "I'm sure you know, or have guessed, that when Thor was banished to Midgard, it was done with the intent that he should learn something and grow from the experience. You also know that I had been putting off the Odinsleep for a very long time at that point, and it was only a matter of time until I would succumb to it. I knew it would be soon, though the timing was not of my choosing, and that Loki would also have a test in that same timeframe as Thor. He would learn more about rulership and the needs of Asgard." Odin paused for several minutes, collecting his thoughts as he ate a few bites.

Frigga picked up the narrative to give her husband a chance to eat. "We never considered that Loki might accidentally have learned the truth of his heritage in the fight on Jotunheim," she began in a soft, regretful tone. "The lesson we intended for him was complicated by that revelation, and so what we had thought to have happen went astray." She paused, looking from Loki to Thor and back again. "We had not thought you would feel the need to prove yourself our son, Loki. Not when you had been a part of this family for so very long, from the very moment your father laid you in my arms. The feeling I had then was no different than the first time I held Thor."

"But Father said he had brought me here after the war with the intention of bringing about peace between Asgard and Jotunheim," Loki said quietly. "I was a tool, a prize of war like the Casket. Or so I felt at the time."

"What your father intended at the time and what came to pass were very different things, though," Frigga said gently. "We raised you as one of us, as we would and did raise our own child. You could not have been more my son if you had been borne of my body, Loki."

"Perhaps you are right and we should have told you the truth long ago," Odin conceded. "We did not want you to grow up with the stigma of the long war hanging over you, and for so long had our people been fighting the Jotuns that casting them as the villains was common practice. We could not change that; it would not have worked had we tried. So rather than let you face that, we kept the truth from everyone. Even you and Thor."

A long silence ensued while everyone thought about what had been said thus far. Food was consumed in the meantime, but without the usual hearty enthusiasm that had been typical of Thor in the past. From the main room below they could hear a general buzz of voices and the occasional burst of laughter, but nothing clear enough to intrude upon anyone's thoughts.

Loki was lost in thought, considering what his parents had said. It was true that he was different enough from other children that he would not have wanted it known that he was a Jotun. True that they could have told him - perhaps should have, once he was old enough to keep it hidden. It would not have made him feel much more different from the other children than his magic did, just one more secret to keep. But would he have felt differently about his family? He didn't know.

Thor was also remembering the past. He remembered games of "warriors and frost giants" and stories of battles fought and won against the monsters. Perhaps Loki's reaction to finding out he was truly one of them wasn't as strange as he had first thought. Thor believed that he would have wanted a way to prove that he wasn't one of them, had he learned he was of their blood.

Jane considered the people in the room carefully. They were all silent for the moment, lost in their own thoughts. For herself, Jane felt Loki had been extremely lucky. Instead of dying as a child, he had been rescued by Odin and brought to Asgard. He'd had a home and a family that loved him.

"It isn't blood that makes family, you know," Jane said softly into the quiet of the room. "Families are bound by love. Adoption is actually fairly common back on Earth; sometimes the kids are old enough to know about it when it happens and sometimes they have to be told about it when they get older. But as long as their parents love them, then they are all family." Jane thought about Erik, who had been the only family she had after losing her parents. In some ways he was as much her father as her dad had been.

"She is right, you know," Thor said after a moment. He reached over to rest his hand atop Loki's. "You are my brother; we grew up together, fought together, celebrated together. We've shared blood in all the ways that matter."

Loki looked up from his plate and met Thor's eyes, seeing only sincerity. And he smiled. "I know, brother. I… I am sorry."

"Already forgiven," Thor replied and returned the smile.

* * *

TBC...

So, what do you think?


	11. Chapter 10: Dinner Discussions

**A/N: **I did promise a new chapter today, did I not? Please review and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 10

"May I ask what Thor and Loki were intended to learn during Thor's banishment?" Jane queried, her curiosity piqued as the tension level in the room lowered. "Aside from not to smash cups on the floor of restaurants, I mean," she added with a wry smile to Thor.

"I can answer some of that," Thor spoke up. "Manners aside," he said with a chuckle, "I learned to value life, whether Asgardian or Mortal or anything in between. Also that there are times when what I want and what is good for others are different things, and a King must put the needs of the people first. I was not ready to be King then, and I admit it. I am not sure if I am ready yet now."

"What we had intended to show them," Odin explained, "was that while there is only one King, Asgard truly needs them both. Many have the impression that I rule alone and that my word is law. The reality is that there is very little that I do unilaterally. Frigga and I discuss a great many things in advance of a decision, and I do have a council for a reason."

"Thor's banishment was an extreme reaction that we had not considered needing, but we knew we would have to teach him many things he would need as King," Frigga added. "When Odin sent Thor to Midgard, we took advantage of the situation to set in motion other events."

"So after giving me time to rule in Thor's absence and while Father slept, I was intended to realize that neither Thor nor I could rule without the help of the other?" Loki asked, his tone a little skeptical. "It would seem that I failed another test, then," he added with a trace of bitterness in his tone.

"Perhaps, but the added burden of discovering the truth of your past warped the events beyond repair," Odin confessed, regret tinging his tone. "More so than we could have anticipated. We knew that if you ever found out by chance that you would be hurt, but we did not know how deeply. Nor had we thought it would cause you to turn on yourself as well as on Jotunheim."

"The past cannot be undone," Frigga said quietly. "We must learn what we can from it and move forward. I hoped that you would see that we trusted you, that you are our son. That we saw you as no different than Thor when it comes to family."

"So what happens now?" Loki asked in a resigned tone. "I know there are many who will not forgive me for what I did while I was King, nevermind what happened on Midgard after."

"I have spoken with Sif, Hogun, Volstagg, and Fandral," Odin replied with a frown, his tone severe. "Though they did no harm in the long run, it is **not** their place to decide who is to be King. All you had done was to refuse to recall Thor, which was in fact the correct thing to do. Their lack of trust in you had no foundation at the time, and yet they went against both your orders and mine to retrieve Thor."

"They did not understand what was happening, but that does not excuse their actions," Frigga agreed, her tone less severe but still firm. "They are currently helping Heimdall repair the Bifrost, a task which is quite beyond them. But they, too, will learn something from the experience."

"And what of Heimdall?" Thor inquired. "They could not have gotten to Midgard without use of the Bifrost."

"He has every right to hate me," Loki said quietly. "Had I not had the Casket, I might have killed him. Even with it, I risked doing so. I still do not know how to fully control its power."

"We will work that out in time," Odin stated. "We will not resolve everything tonight, but we will make a beginning."

Jane listened quietly as the discussion continued. She was fairly confused, as they discussed things of which she had no knowledge. She knew that four of Thor's friends had come to Earth to find him, and that the giant robot thing had followed them. It had been an over-reaction on his part, but knowing that Loki had felt betrayed on all sides helped her to understand at least a little why he had done it.

As the discussion began to make less and less sense to her, Jane sat back in her chair and concentrated on the emotions simmering in the room instead. Odin was still mostly a blank to her; all she really got from him was determination and a sense of purpose. Frigga was easy to read; she was quite open with her emotions, at least in this private setting. From her Jane felt compassion and love, but also quiet assurance and a resolve to repair the bonds of both her family and her kingdom.

Likewise, Thor was easy to read. He looked at his family with obvious love, but also some confusion and uncertainty about the future. He was listening, trying to understand, but he felt somewhat out of his depth.

Loki, on the other hand, was both easy and more difficult to pin down. She kept getting flashes from him, both of emotion and of memory. He kept his expression mostly neutral, but she could sense his mind racing as the discussion raised questions and answered them.

Again, Jane wished for a way to block out what she was sensing. She felt more and more like an interloper as the conversation continued around her. What they were discussing was as much politics as it was relationships, and she had nothing to say so she kept silent. The shifting emotions in the room were giving her a headache, though.

Finally, while Thor and Odin were discussing something else for a moment, Jane leaned over towards Frigga. "Pardon me, ma'am, but may I be excused please?" she asked very softly. "I think perhaps I'd best leave the rest to your family."

"Of course. Are you quite well, Jane?" Frigga replied quietly as she caught faint traces of pain in Jane's expression.

"Just a headache," Jane answered quietly. "It's nothing serious."

"Very well. Go get some rest, my dear," Frigga instructed gently. "If you should need anything during the night, there are always guards stationed in the halls."

"Thank you," Jane answered. As she stood, Jane attracted attention from first Loki and then Thor. Odin glanced at her as well, but only nodded; Jane assumed he had managed to hear her speak with Frigga. Very little about Asgardians would surprise her.

"Are you all right, Jane?" Loki asked, a touch of concern tinging his tone.

She smiled and nodded. "I'm fine; I have a bit of a headache, is all. And really, what you're discussing really has nothing to do with me."

"Perhaps someone should escort you back to your room?" Thor offered, rising to his feet.

"No, please, I'll be fine. I don't want to interrupt," Jane demured. "You have plenty to work out here without worrying about me."

"Very well," Thor agreed. But instead of returning to his seat, he walked around the table to her side. "Have a safe night and I hope to see you tomorrow," he said softly. He took her hand and brushed a soft kiss against her skin as he bowed to her.

Loki also rose to his feet, and repeated Thor's gesture. As he held her hand, he sent a whisper of his magic into her body to ease her headache. He told himself it was simple courtesy and refused to acknowledge that he didn't wish her to leave any more than Thor did. "Good night, Lady Jane," he bid her. "Perhaps we can arrange for your visit to the observatory another night."

"I'd like that," Jane agreed. "Good night, everyone." She dipped in a curtsey to Odin and Frigga and left the room.

It wasn't until she was halfway back to her guest room that Jane realized her headache was gone. It wasn't just from leaving the room, either; she could still feel some odd, conflicting emotions from Loki as the family resumed their discussions. Still, she was glad to have escaped when she did. She had some pretty serious thinking to do on her own.

* * *

TBC...


	12. Chapter 11: Research

**A/N: **Please bear with me on the beginning of this chapter. The viewpoint on this one is different to begin with; I hope after reading it, you will understand what I tried to do.

Please review!

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Chapter 11

Morning came early for the Asgardian royal family. They had talked long into the night and resolved a number of lingering issues. There were more yet to work out, and no family was ever free of misunderstandings, but they were progressing well.

Frigga sat in her private solar the next morning, working on domestic details of the household. The work needed to be done, but it also helped to pass the time. She had left word with the servants to send Thor to see her once he was up and about.

It didn't surprise her overmuch when several hours passed before her elder son made an appearance. Thor was always one who needed his sleep, and the late night meant he would likely sleep until the sun was well into the sky. But finally a knock at the door caused her to put down her pen.

"Come in," she called out. She smiled as Thor walked into the room and closed the door behind him. "Good morning, my son," she greeted him.

"Good morning, Mother," he replied. He bent to hug her before settling into the couch across from her chair. "You left word that you wished to see me?"

"I did indeed," she agreed as she watched him settle. "I wished to speak with you alone. About Lady Jane."

Thor nodded, not really surprised. His mother was extremely perceptive; even Loki had difficulty avoiding her regard if she chose to focus on something. "What is it you wish to know?"

"Tell me about her," Frigga said, and sat back to listen.

Thor looked puzzled at her request, but complied. "Jane is a wonderful woman. She is kind and compassionate. She often thinks of others before herself. She can be determined and somewhat outspoken, particularly when she feels someone has wronged her as you saw yesterday in council. She is very passionate about the stars, and I think intrigued by the concept of Yggdrasil. We spent an evening stargazing, once. I think she finds comfort in the stars; they do not often change and can be studied and understood to some extent."

"Do you love her?"

"I…" Thor hesitated. "I care for her a great deal," he temporized. "I think she would be very easy to love."

"She probably would," Frigga agreed, somewhat intrigued. "But you only knew her for a few days."

"She taught me much in only a few days."

"I know she did, Thor," she said gently. "And I am glad that you care for her." Thor's expression brightened, but she shook her head briefly as she continued. "I do not think you know her well enough to love her, however. I am happy that I do not have to convince you of that."

"Why do you say this?" Thor asked, puzzled and a little hurt.

Frigga sighed and clasped her hands on her lap. "Because I am not sure you and Lady Jane are well suited to each other," she said finally. "From her tale yesterday, I do not see in her an interest in the activities you excel in. She strikes me as being more interested in our library than in combat and competitions. You may not have enough in common to truly build a relationship upon."

Thor's frown deepened as he listened to his mother speak, but he found that he could not dispute her with any solid knowledge. Jane had not run from Loki atop Stark's tower, but she had fled with the rest of the mortals rather than face the Destroyer. And the questions she had asked about his tales in the past had more to do with the people involved and little to do with the glory of battle or the tactics and skills.

"The only thing I can do is try," Thor said finally, knowing full well that he was not ready to give up on the idea of a possible future with Jane.

"Perhaps you should speak with her," Frigga suggested. "She is alone here, without her family and friends. Be her friend, my son, and see what else develops. And…" she hesitated for a moment, "perhaps you should speak with your brother as well. Ask him for his opinion of Lady Jane and see what he says."

"I shall do both, Mother," Thor said as he rose to his feet. "I will think about what you have said."

Frigga smiled. "That is all I can ask for." She watched as Thor left the room and then sighed to herself. Her sons would bear watching for a while, she knew. This was not the first time they had both shown interest in the same woman, but it was the first time where there were true emotional entanglements on both sides. And it was also the first time where the woman in question would not automatically dismiss Loki in favor of Thor…

* * *

Jane was in heaven.

A servant had brought breakfast to Jane's room that morning, on Frigga's orders. So she had been able to eat in peace. She missed her coffee, though, and it took her longer to wake up than usual without it. At least they had tea, so she was unlikely to get a caffeine headache.

When she emerged from her room, she had been told that the Royal Family was likely to still be asleep, as they had been up quite late the night prior. So Jane had asked for directions to the library.

What she discovered was a huge room full of books, scrolls and papers. Shelves lined every wall and were free-standing over much of the remaining floor space. There was a fireplace at one end, with a couch and a few armchairs that looked quite comfortable. Immediately in front of the doors was a collection of tables and chairs, presumably for lessons though there were none in progress at the moment. As she wandered among the shelves, she found other small tables and chairs scattered about.

When she had first begun to look at the books, Jane had been dismayed to realize that she did not recognize the language. "Oh, no…" she had murmured. But as soon as she spoke, the signs on the shelves had blurred and reformed into the English she was used to. Looking closer revealed that the books had also changed, and she laughed in joy.

She started to accumulate a pile of books about the stars and worlds visible or reachable from Asgard before remembering that she had another task to start with.

Leaving her pile for later, Jane perused the shelves until she found a section on magic. She hoped that her newly acquired gifts were close enough to magic to be found in the same area. Time spent searching yielded her one treasure; what appeared to be a primer volume on the various types of magic. The table of contents indicated that there was a section on prophetic dreams and visions, and Jane hoped that other abilities that Earth considered psychic phenomena would be included in the book as well.

Taking the book back to the table where she'd left her other books, she moved the entire pile over to a small table beside armchair and settled in to read. She wished she had her notebook, but perhaps she could find someone to loan her a pen and paper later on. The book on magic was slow to read and she very quickly learned that the first chapters discussed basic theory and terminology and decided she was better off starting at the beginning.

* * *

TBC...

**A/N: **So... what do you think?


	13. Chapter 12: Friends?

**A/N: **I see that I have several new followers on this story. Welcome! I hope you're enjoying the story, and I would love it if you would please leave me a review to let me know what your thoughts are. I love being part of a community that allows us all to support each other's creativity. I hope to hear from you!

* * *

Chapter 12

Jane was about halfway through the fourth chapter when she heard someone else enter the library. She finished the paragraph she was reading before she looked away from the book; when she raised her eyes, she met Loki's rather startled glance. She supposed he hadn't expected to find her here; likewise, she hadn't expected him to find her here though perhaps she should have known better.

Loki recovered first and gave her a charming smile as he began to cross the room to where she was. "Good morning Lady Jane," he said smoothly as he approached.

"Good morning, Prince Loki," she replied politely. She allowed the open book to settle into her lap, open to the page she was on as she didn't currently have a way to mark her page. Apparently whomever had written this book didn't feel the need for page numbers, despite the fact that the book had a table of contents. A listing of chapters, really, she supposed. "I don't suppose you'd know where I could find paper and pen around here, would you?" she asked lightly.

"But of course," he replied, a little surprised. With a twist of his wrist, he held both in his previously empty hand. He gave them to her with a small smile. "Studying already, are you?" he asked with a slightly teasing tone as he studied the pile of books beside her.

Jane shrugged and nodded. "I am, though I'll have to get to those later," she said with just a hint of a smile. "I don't know if I'll ever stop wanting to understand new things. My dream of building a bridge between worlds hasn't gone away just because I've made it here."

Loki nodded. "I quite understand. So what are you reading currently?" Loki leaned over to take a look at the book in her lap. "A magic primer? Whatever for?"

Jane looked down at the book for a moment before looking back up at him. "Because of what the Tesseract did to my mind," she admitted quietly. "I don't know how to control it, and I'm hoping to find something that will help."

"Of course," Loki breathed as a connection was made. "You said she unlocked some latent potential within your mind and you started sensing the minds of others."

Jane nodded. "Speaking of which… I feel I owe you an apology," she began slowly.

Loki shook his head quickly, cutting her off. "You freed me from Thanos' control and prevented further invasion of your world. You need not apologize for that."

"Perhaps, but I invaded your privacy to do it," Jane went on, explaining her thoughts. "I've been having dreams… I think some of them are your memories," she admitted in a quiet voice. "And I feel as though I know you better than I should. There are some things you say or do that probably should surprise me, but they don't. If I had better control of this… power, or whatever it is, maybe that wouldn't have happened."

Loki sat back, considering his words carefully before he spoke. She was being honest with him, and he could tell that she truly did feel bad for what she had picked up inadvertently. "I accept your apology, because I know you did not intend for this to happen." Loki saw her smile as relief crossed her eyes. "And because you have been candid with me, I shall give you the same courtesy. This… accidental exposure… was not one-sided," Loki revealed to her.

"Oh…" Jane's eyes widened. The Tesseract had suggested that it might be possible, but it hadn't crossed her mind since. "Well, I suppose fair is fair," she said with a sigh. "I'd have to say that I really do prefer to get to know people, and for them to get to know me, in the more usual fashion." She paused and tensed as she realized how that must have sounded. "Sorry, I meant that I would rather you learn about me through interaction, not that I wouldn't want you to…"

Loki chuckled a little bit at her discomfiture but quickly reassured her. "I understand. I, too, would prefer to have some control over what others learn about me," he agreed and watched her relax again. "Would it be wrong of me to ask what you've seen?"

Jane shrugged. "Considering that I have no experience with this, I don't know if it's wrong or not. But I don't mind. I'd… kind of like to know what you've seen as well."

"Then we can exchange information anyway, just in a rather different fashion than is typical," Loki agreed with a nod.

Jane began, telling him about the dreams she'd had of him so far. Seeing his childhood. Playing games with Thor. His parents. Lessons in magic, which had given her the idea to search the library for studies on her own gifts if they existed. Those were fairly easy.

More difficult to tell him was the dream about Jotunheim. Feeling his shock and horror as his hands turned blue.

And feeling his determination become despair as he hung from the end of a staff…

"I don't know what he was thinking, though," she said finally, referring to Odin. "Telling someone 'no' when they're hanging over an endless abyss… probably not the wisest thing to do."

Loki's mouth quirked in a small smile at her criticism. "No, perhaps not," he agreed quietly. "So, then, you have seen me at my worst. All the depths. And yet you still speak with me?"

"Oh, Loki," she sighed softly. She tucked the paper he had provided into the book and set it aside. She moved seats to the couch beside him as she gave into the desire to offer him comfort. She refrained from touching him, though, knowing on some level that he didn't react well to unsought contact. "We all react badly to things sometimes," she said earnestly. "I was a terrible mess when my parents died. I thought the world had ended, or that maybe I wished it would."

"I know," Loki murmured as he turned to face her again. "I saw it. Felt it, in dreams."

"I only got over it with time, and the help of people who cared about me. And when it happened to you, the only person not out of reach was your mother," she continued softly. "Perhaps had you not also needed to be King at the time, things would have gone differently. But so many people lash out when they're hurting, usually hurting the people they care about the most. How can I hold that against you when no one held it against me?"

"You were just a child," Loki began.

"I was, but children have the capability to hurt others too." Jane sighed softly, closing her eyes in remembered pain. She tried not to think about screaming at Erik when he only wanted to help her; tried to shut out the memories of not knowing how to make life go on after such a loss. And from the look in Loki's eyes, he knew some of what she was trying so hard not to recall. "Sometimes even more, because they tend to be less aware when they do it. At least you know what you did and why, now that you've had time to consider it."

Giving in to impulse, Loki reached out to Jane. He touched her shoulder, almost hesitant. And slowly, gently so she would have plenty of time to pull away if she wished, he pulled her into his arms. He felt her pain acutely; or perhaps it was his own. In either case, he wanted to offer her what he hadn't had in a very long time.

Someone to give comfort.

She surprised him when she only shifted closer and wrapped her arms around him as well, carefully but almost unconsciously shifting position so they were close without there being anything provocative or indecent in the embrace. He rested his cheek on her soft hair, focusing on his breathing in order to keep his emotions in check.

"It will be alright," he whispered into her hair. "I will help you. We will find what you need."

"We'll help each other," Jane murmured. "That's what friends do."

Loki blinked and lifted his head to look down into her eyes. "Are we friends?"

Jane bit her lip uncertainly. "Is there something about me you've learned that you don't like?"

"Oh, no, nothing like that," he assured her quickly.

"Then I think we are," Jane replied. "We just skipped a few steps in getting there."

Loki's brilliant smile made Jane want to cry; tears for a man who'd lived so many years and never made a friend easily. But instead she just rested her head on his shoulder and let him hold her for however long he needed.

* * *

TBC...

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